I want to thank all my readers for another great year of Copyhype and wish everyone the best of the holiday season! I will likely not be blogging over the holidays, but I’ll be back afterward. That is, unless the archaeologists who misinterpreted Mayan writings were correct that the world will end today.

2012 Music Memoriam — Paul Lamere has compiled a list of all the musicians the world has lost in 2012. They will be missed.

The Right Decision: A Treaty Spurned — In international news, last week the US withdrew from a proposed global telecommunications treaty being drafted at the UN. Here is a brief statement from the RIAA supporting that move. “Vesting authority in the ITU, however, is not the solution, particularly given the overt interest of some countries to regulate the Internet in order to censor political speech or to otherwise limit the legitimate expression of views.”

Down by Law: The Year Downloading Took a Dive — SPIN Magazine notes that 2012 continued the recent declining trend of unauthorized downloading, due to a combination of more effective legal enforcement and the development of legitimate online outlets. The article does note, however, that authorized downloading seems to be in decline as well, as streaming sites grow increasingly popular.

IP and Instagram–a Teaching Moment Perhaps? — The internet was abuzz earlier this week when popular photo sharing site Instagram implemented changes in its terms of service that raised concerns about what it would be able to do with users’ photos. Instagram has since backed off in response to the outcry, but the reaction has led Ellen Seidler to wonder if this would lead to increased recognition of the importance of copyright. Seidler notes that one comment, saying “My photos will not sell without my knowledge and compensation. I spend time on my pictures” is “essentiallywhat content creators have been saying for a long time in rebuttal to claims that online piracy is OK.”

High Volume Of Google’s Copyright Removal Requests Reveals Magnitude Of Piracy Problem, Onerous Burden On Creators — CreativeAmerica on Google’s latest stats, showing it removes over 2.5 million links to infringing content a week: “Google clearly recognizes how onerous the processing of removal requests is for them, but what about the content creators and owners who now spend significant resources and countless hours monitoring Google search results for illegal links to their stolen creative works – only to have another one pop up again? What about independent or up-and-coming filmmakers who don’t have the means to make sure stolen copies of their work are promptly removed?”

It’s Time for Artists to Fight Piracy as Vigorously as They’ve Challenged Pandora — “This is why it’s time for artists to band together to set the story straight. Don’t leave it to the few brave enough to speak strongly on the matter. There needs to be a large, coordinated effort by bands big and small to tell their story–to sign a letter to fans explaining how devastating piracy is to their ability to make music for a living (or at all).”

I don’t get the RIAA’s motive in this. Why back Google’s crusade against the ITU? The enemy (ITU) of my enemy (Google) is my friend.

About

Copyhype provides news and info on current developments relating to copyright law, the media industries, and the digital economy. It cuts through the hype to bring reasoned discussion aimed at both legal and nonlegal audiences.

Terry Hart is currently Director of Legal Policy at the Copyright Alliance. Any opinions expressed on this site remain his own and not necessarily those of his present or any past employers.